Naso: Shivim Panim la'Torah in Context
Naso: Shivim Panim la'Torah in Context
The idiom "Shivim Panim la'Torah" is well-known but its origin is not. An analysis of its source in context sheds light on its usage by the Rishonim.
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Originally published in June 2013. Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article.
Note: This was one of the first articles I ever wrote on the subject of pshat vs. drash. While I still stand by what I wrote here, my views have evolved significantly since then. For the most up-to-date presentation of my thinking on this subject and for a lot more sources than I cite here, check out my shiur entitled: “Midrashic Betrayal: the Detrimental Effects of the Failure to Distinguish Between Pshat and Drash,” available on YouTube (and linked below) with the accompanying PowerPoint presentation and in audio on my Machshavah Lab podcast.
Parashas Naso: The True Meaning of Shivim Panim la'Torah
The phrase “shivim panim la'Torah” – literally, “there are seventy faces to the Torah” – is often cited to support the coexistence of multiple interpretations. Some invoke this phrase to suggest that mutually exclusive explanations can both be true or that all opinions are equally valid. But does this reflect the true meaning of shivim panim la’Torah, or did Chazal have something else in mind?
The source of shivim panim la’Torah is a midrash on Parashas Naso (Bamidbar Rabbah 13:15-16). The Torah recounts the identical contributions made by the leaders of each tribe at the inauguration of the Mishkan. The midrash focuses on the offering of Nesanel ben Tzuar of the tribe of Yissachar, stating that he “made an offering to represent the Torah, because the members of his tribe loved the Torah more than any other tribe.” The midrash then explains how each component of his offering symbolizes a different feature of Torah.
One of the items donated by Nesanel ben Tzuar was “one silver basin (mizrak) of seventy shekels in the sacred shekel” (Bamidbar 7:19). The midrash expounds on the significance of this basin:
One silver basin represents the Torah which has been likened to wine, as it is stated, "And drink of the wine which I have mingled" (Mishlei 9:5). Now because it is customary to drink wine in a basin – as you may gather from the text, "They who drink wine in basins" (Amos 6:6) – therefore, he brought a basin. Why "of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary"? As the numerical value of yayin (wine) is seventy, so there are shivim panim la’Torah.
What insight is the midrash trying to convey? The midrash is cryptic and doesn't elaborate on the meaning of shivim panim la’Torah. What should we learn from the comparison between wine in a silver wine basin and the Torah’s “seventy faces”?
In searching for an answer, I discovered that whenever the classical Rishonim and early Acharonim [1] invoke the principle of shivim panim la’Torah, they do so exclusively in application to drash – not to pshat. This is a crucial clue to decoding the midrash. First, let us review the distinction between pshat and drash.
In his introduction to the Aseres ha’Dibros (Shemos 20:1, Second Commentary), Ibn Ezra writes: “words are like bodies and meanings are like souls, and the body to the soul is like a vessel.” That is to say, the words of a pasuk are the vehicle through which meanings are conveyed. Ralbag, in his introduction to Shir ha’Shirim, utilizes this distinction as the basis for defining pshat and drash. According to Ralbag, “pshat” refers to the meaning that the author (or Author) intended to convey through the pasuk’s words. “Drash,” on the other hand, is a homiletic device by which the words of a pasuk are used to teach an extrinsic idea – one that may or may not relate to the author’s intended meaning.
For example, the Torah says: “The woman [Yocheved] conceived and bore a son, and she saw that he was good” (Shemos 2:2). Ibn Ezra (ibid. First Commentary) provides the pshat of the pasuk, namely, that Yocheved saw that her newborn child looked beautiful. Chazal (Sotah 12a), on the other hand, expound the pasuk by way of drash: “At the time when Moshe was born, the entire house was filled with light, for it is written here ‘and she saw that he was good’ and it is written elsewhere ‘And God saw that the light was good’ (Bereishis 1:4).” This idea, while valuable in and of itself, is extrinsic to the meaning of the pasuk and does not necessarily reflect the pshat.
With this distinction in mind, we can understand the meaning of shivim panim la’Torah according to the midrash and why the classical commentators apply this principle exclusively to drash rather than pshat. According to our midrash, it is not the content of the vessel (the “wine of Torah”) which has shivim panim, but the vessel itself (the words of the pesukim). This is a key feature of the Torah’s beauty and perfection. In books written by humans, the words convey pshat and nothing more. In the Torah, however, the words of the pesukim teach fundamental ideas on a pshat level and also serve as a platform for countless valuable ideas through drash.
Now we can appreciate the beauty of the idea about Torah that Nesanel ben Tzuar expressed through his donation of the silver basin. Moreover, we can understand the careful and discerning way in which the Rishonim and Acharonim invoked shivim panim la’Torah, in contrast to the indiscriminate usage common today.
[1] As mentioned, I wrote this article in 2013. At the time, I listed the following sources for my claim about how the Rishonim use shivim panim la’Torah: Sefer ha’Chinuch: Mitzvah #95; Ibn Ezra: Introduction to Torah; Ramban: Bereishis 8:4; Sefer Maharil: Likkutim 77; see also Shailos u’Tshuvos ha’Radvaz 3:643; Shiltei ha’Giborim: Avodah Zarah daf 6a b’dapei ha’Rif. Since 2013, the database of online texts has grown tremendously, and I have not yet performed an updated search to confirm whether shivim panim la’Torah is ever used by the Rishonim and early Acharonim in relation to pshat rather than drash. If you find such examples, please share them with me!
If you are aware of any classical Rishonim or Acharonim who apply shivim panim la’Torah to pshat, please let me know!
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